This year’s top pick, defensive end Myles Garrett of the Cleveland Browns, makes his pro debut this Sunday, in Week 5, at home against the New York Jets.

Goff didn’t play any earlier than mid November because then-Rams head coach Jeff Fisher said he wasn’t ready. No one has said that about Garrett. He was just hurt for the past month, that’s all.

Browns head coach Hue Jackson announced Friday that Garrett is a full go, after sitting out four weeks with a high ankle sprain suffered four days before Cleveland’s opener against Pittsburgh. Garrett returned to practice this week, looked great, and isn’t even listed on the Browns’ injury report.

Garrett is viewed as a rare, once-every-few-years edge-rushing talent, a player so promising that pre-draft prognosticators agreed there was no way the Browns could justify trading down, for almost any player. The kid apparently is that good. Even by first-round NFL standards Garrett possesses an uncommon mix of speed, power, physicality and instincts, all wrapped by a desire to dominate.

Is Jackson as excited to see Garrett play as the rest of us?

“Let’s get to the game and make sure he is out there and going,” Jackson said, laughing. “No, it is exciting ... not only for myself and our coaching staff but for him and for his teammates. They want to get him out there playing. They know that he brings something to the table for our football team, and we are looking for any spark, opportunity -- somebody that can continue to raise the bar for our team. That is what we need.”

Browns defensive coordinator Gregg Williams said he’s glad the winless Browns took a cautious approach with Garrett, after he badly turned an ankle in the Wednesday practice before the opener.

“He probably could have played last week, but now, hopefully, he will be more productive -- and it is a much more healthy way to continue on,” Williams said Friday. “We will take a look at the situations we play him in, just like all of the defensive linemen. We rotate them, and you see that. We keep a pitch count on all of them.

“He really has had a very good week.”

That’s not good news for Jets quarterback Josh McCown, who makes a homecoming of sorts, as he started 11 games for the Browns over the past two seasons, usually playing OK (not great) while winning only once.

At age 38 McCown isn’t exactly Mr. Mobile. Expect the pro-game newbie to harass him in or around the pocket more than once, at a high speed of impact too.

Jackson said he advised Garrett not to worry about any pass-rush statistics. Such as sacks. Or QB hits or hurries.

“He has to walk out there and just play,” Jackson said. “It is not about if you go out there and have two sacks or three sacks. That is not what this is about. This is about winning the game and playing the best you can play, for as long as you can play. That is what is most important for him this week.”

The Browns (0-4) might not get a better chance to win than this week, against a Jets team that’s surprisingly 2-2 but is winless on the road.

CANUCK IN, CANUCK OUT

Brett Jones of Weyburn, Sask., will start for the New York Giants on Sunday against the Los Angeles Chargers in the Owen-Four Bowl (both teams are 0-4). It’s his second start of the season, and third of his three-year NFL career -- which followed a brief but all-star CFL stint with the Calgary Stampeders. Jones’ Week 2 start was at left guard. This one will be at centre, as regular starting snapper Weston Richburg is out with a concussion. What’s more, regular Giants right guard John Jerry (hamstring) is questionable. Jones normally backs up both. This might be the best chance of his NFL career to lock down some extended playing time.

Meantime, it came as no surprise when Kansas City Chiefs head coach Andy Reid on Friday ruled guard Laurent Duvernay-Tardif out of Sunday night’s game at Houston. Duvernay-Tardif (of Mont-Saint-Hilaire, Que.) sprained a knee Monday night against Washington. Reid termed it a day-to-day injury.

CAM APOLOGIZES

On Thursday evening Carolina QB Cam Newton apologized for egregiously belittling a female sports reporter, for being a female sports reporter who asked a technical question at his Wednesday news conference. In a video nearly two minutes long posted to his Twitter account, Newton -- in appearing and sounding genuinely contrite -- said his words Wednesday were “extremely degrading and disrespectful to women ... I’m a father to two beautiful daughters, and at their age I try to instil in them that they can do and be anything they want to be. The fact that during this whole process I’ve already lost sponsors and countless fans, I realize that the joke is really on me. And I’ve learned a valuable lesson from this. To the young people who see this, I hope that you’ve learned something from this as well. Don’t be like me. Be better than me.”

Two of his sponsors dropped him over the incident, including a yogurt company.

“To the reporters, to the journalists, to the moms, the supermoms, to the daughters, the sisters and the women all around the world,” Newton said in conclusion, “I sincerely apologize and hope that you can find the kindness in your heart to forgive me. Thank you.”

ANTONIO APOLOGIZES

Pittsburgh WR Antonio Brown not only apologized again Friday for his childish behaviour last Sunday when he was miffed at not getting thrown the ball often enough, but he said QB Ben Roethlisberger was right to criticize him publicly.

“It’s not about me,” Brown said, according to ESPN.com, via ProFootballTalk.com. “We all make mistakes as players. Sometimes I might miss a read. I don’t see Ben throwing me under the bus if I drop the ball, or if I run the wrong route or didn’t get my depth. I don’t see him kicking the cooler. It’s no excuse for my behaviour. I’m glad (Roethlisberger) did what he did. He called me out.”

EXTRA POINTS

Minnesota QB Sam Bradford practised again Friday on a limited basis. The Vikings are due to announce Saturday whether he is out or questionable for Monday night’s game at Chicago. Bradford said Friday he’s “hopeful” he’ll be cleared to play, albeit with discomfort in his injured left knee ... The Tampa Bay Buccaneers reportedly have lined up as many as five placekickers -- including Mike Nugent and Andrew Franks -- for tryouts to replace Nick Folk, who missed three makeable field goals in the Bucs’ 19-14 homefield loss Thursday to New England ... There’s another snag in commissioner Roger Goodell’s contract-extension talks, according to Sports Business Daily’s Dan Kaplan. It centres on the amount of Goodell’s severance pay, should owners dump him before the proposed 2019-24 extension expires.